Return to Shambala
by Lily of the Shadow
Summary: PostMovie:Spoilers Follows Roy, Ed, Al and Noa as they go through life once things settle down...
1. I

I suppose that, since this is technically my first once-shot that's longer than a drabble, I should state that I don't know everything. I tried to make this as canon as possible, the people as IC as possible, etc., but nobody is perfect, so please don't flame me. In fact, I'd rahter you let me know if I should continue. This is actually part of an idea for a prequel to a story that never really got off the ground. Opinions and ideas welcome.

* * *

Roy Mustang watched as brilliant light engulfed the ship that carried the Elric brothers. He sighed deeply; he was left with the task of destroying the array underground so that the Gate could never again be opened.

He knelt down and drew an array on the metal, clapped his hands, and willed the huge hunk of material to take the form of a glider. With a warm red glow, it submitted to being formed. When Roy was satisfied, he stood up and waited for it to finish it's gliding decent.

The ground below him was covered with throngs of people, all curious as to what on Amestris had just actually happened. The glider alighted in the midst of the crowd, just in front of Central HQ. The tattered green banner that normally covered the entire front of the building had holes though it, revealing patches of stone that hadn't seen sunlight in years. Roy felt that those patches must feel rather like him, lost, confused and blinded by the events of the past twenty-four hours.

"_Mustang_!" Roy was nearly knocked over by a young girl's 'attack'. He twisted around to see Winry's blonde head, her face buried in his back. She looked up, eyes filled with tears. "They're both…?"

"On the other side." Roy said softly. Winry let lose a choked sob, burying her face once again in his back. Roy managed to twist around and gesture for his former Lieutenant to take care of the distraught girl. Riza Hawkeye stepped forward, her face sad as well.

"I suppose this means they're never coming back." She sighed, placing a hand on Winry's shoulder. Winry immediately spun around to hug the woman tightly, still crying.

"Yes, I guess it does. I have my orders to destroy the array under the city." Winry's cries grew louder.

"They _can't_ never come back!" she hissed at Roy, her eyes venomous through the tears. "They… They promised! When they first left!"

Roy mulled this over for a moment. He sighed. "Winry, I have to destroy the array. Otherwise, this all could happen again." He dropped his gaze to the ground, unable to stand the sight of the girl's utterly distraught tears any longer.

"Ed won't let it!" Winry protested. Riza clucked her tongue and drew Winry closer to her, holding her in a motherly fashion. Winry resumed crying into her shoulder.

"Roy…" Riza said, addressing the man before her, formerly her superior officer, as a friend. Roy looked up, having never been addressed as such by the blonde gunwoman. "If you destroy the array… is there… well, any possibly way…?"

"No. I have my orders, I have to follow through with them."

"_Orders_ from _Fullmetal_?" Riza asked abruptly. "Since when do you _listen_ to _Major_ Edward Fullmetal Elric, _Colonel_ Mustang?" Roy caught the spark of hope in her eyes. He raised his visible eyebrow.

"I'm not colonel anymore…" he paused. When she raised her own eyebrow at him, the force of what she was saying hit him like, excuse the cliché, a ton of bricks. "Indeed, when? I suppose I should refuse to destroy it simply on principle. Fullmetal shouldn't be ordering around his superior officer," he said haughtily. Winry turned around and glared at him.

"He has every right to order you around, you—" she stopped short, seeing the amused glint in Mustang's eye. "—GAH!" she cried in frustration, launching herself at him. "Thank you," she whispered in his ear. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Roy gently pushed the girl away and strolled almost casually into HQ. There were damage assessments to be made, reports to be file, and paperwork to put off.


	2. II

Well, two reviews is enough for me. n.n

Once again, I am a lowly know-nothing who _does not own_, nor know everything about, FullMetal Alchemist. OCs are my own (_there's only one in this chapter, I think_), new names for canon characters are my own (_two_), and old names for canon characters are... well, not mine (_all the rest_).

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

"Colonel Mustang, sir!" Havoc saluted the man sitting behind the desk at Central HQ. The former colonel raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, Lieutenant?" he asked, not bothering to correct the man's use of title.

"Your… ah… Commanding officer… is on the line."

"I know." Roy returned to his papers, making a very convincing imitation of work. Havoc looked confused.

"Sir?"

"I've already informed Sergeant Simian that I won't be returning until things are cleared up here." Roy shuffled the papers on his desk impressively. "And by the looks of it, that won't be for a while."

"But Colonel…" Havoc shrunk back a little bit. "He says it's urgent…"

With a heavy sigh, Roy picked up the phone. "Yes, Sergeant?"

"Corporal Mustang!" Sergeant Simian's guttural voice barked over the phone. "Get your lazy ass back here and clean out your dorm."

"Excuse me?" Roy sat up, eyes widening fractionally.

"You heard me. Those military dogs want you back, and frankly I'm thrilled to get you off my hands. Get back down here and clear out your dorm by the end of the week, or else everything in here will be thrown in the dump." There was a click. Sergeant Simian hung up without so much as waiting for an 'okay'. Roy stared at the telephone for a moment before pulling on his jacket. With a tiny smile, he pulled the uniform tabs that identified him as a Colonel and attached them back at the shoulders. With a smart salute dismissing Havoc, he strode out of the room.

He had two days before all his worldly possessions were dumped.

* * *

"Thanks for the ride!" Al called as he, his brother and Noa dismounted the truck. The man driving nodded. The truck pulled away as Ed blanched.

"Come on, Al, you can't think it wasn't weird that we just hitched a ride from _Scar_ and _Lust_!" he said, leaning on a fence post. The modest house behind the picket fence seemed to blink innocently at the intruders.

"Remus and Isabel, Brother. They're not the same!" Al said with a laugh. "Although the expression on your face during the ride was rather amusing."

"Who were they, again?" Noa asked as she unlatched the gate.

"In Shambala, they were some of our mortal enemies. Scar was bent on killing state alchemists, and Lust was one of the homunculi who wanted the Philosopher's Stone." Ed explained, following Al and Noa through the gate. "Where are we?"

"My grandmother lives here," Noa explained. "She had come to live a more stable life as soon as my mother turned of age. I have never met her."

"Then why are we here?"

"The clans still keep track of her, she's still known as a great healer, and news travels quite freely between them. My grandmother cleans houses for very wealthy people for a living. She hears things; I was thinking that, perhaps, she might have heard something about this… bomb you are looking for." Noa led the way to the door. She knocked. An old, prim woman opened the door.

"Sharon?" Noa asked. She extended a hand to shake. The woman raised an eyebrow and accepted it. After a moment, her eyes grew wide and she threw her arms around Noa.

"Noa! My dear grandchild! Come, come in. Don't be shy, children, come in!" the old woman waved Ed and Al inside as well.

The inside of the house was plain and simple. The furniture was old and, for the most part, worn out. There was little on the walls, and the fireplace seemed to be out of wood. They were led to a small parlor where the faded floral couch sat opposite two mismatched armchairs.

"My house is not fancy, but please make yourself at home," she addressed the boys. Then she turned back to Noa. "Noa, dear…" she had tears in her eyes. "Oh, Noa! You have seen much."

"I have, Grandmother." Noa and the old woman embraced again, both crying softly. Ed and Al felt as though they were intruding on something. When the women finally separated, Noa took a seat on the couch as Sharon went to get some tea.

She set the mismatched tea-set on the low coffee table and poured a cup for everyone. Her hand, it seemed, deliberately brushed Ed's and Al's as she handed them their saucers.

"Tell me, then, what brings my granddaughter and two Aryans to the doorstep of an old gypsy?" she asked benignly as she sipped her tea.

"We're not German," Ed stated flatly, "but I'm fairly sure you knew that much."

"Please," Al interrupted, "Excuse my brother. He doesn't have the best manners."

"My manners are fine!" Ed protested. Al shook his head, sighed, and turned back to the bemused old woman.

"Indeed, I knew. But I find that many people are unsettled when I know things." She took another sip of tea. "You are looking for a bomb?"

"Yes. Do you know where it is?"

"I'm afraid not." Sharon set down her tea. "But I have heard of it. I was a maid for a man named Mabuse, a wealthy Jew. His wife was a member of the Nazi party, and I heard from her company about a dangerous bomb. It is supposedly well secured."

"I see…" Ed said softly. "Damn! If only we still had Alchemy, we could get it back so much moreeasily…"

"Brother! There are ladies present," Al admonished his brother's curse. Noa and Sharon laughed.

"Sorry…" Ed mumbled. He, too, set down his tea, not having taken a single sip. "Do you have any idea who has it?"

"I heard the name Albert a time or two. Albert… Einstein?"

"Thank you, ma'am." Ed said, standing up. "Come on, Al, we need to find this man."

"Oh, I insist you at least stay the night, Edward." Sharon stood up and led them to a room. There were two cots in it. "I often get friends who come to me when they are ill. I have no patients right now, so you may stay here," Sharon said.

"Thanks…" Ed said. "I hope we aren't being a bother."

"Not at all!" Sharon smiled gently, her wrinkled face lighting up. "It's not often I get company, much less my own granddaughter and her friends."

"Thank you, again, Mrs…" Al stumbled for a moment upon realizing that they hadn't gotten a last name from the woman.

"Please, just call this old gypsy woman 'Sharon'. No need for formalities."

"Thank you, Sharon." Al said, smiling in his uniquely innocent manner. Sharon curtsied, replying that it wasn't a problem.

"I shall start of supper, then," Sharon said, nodding and leaving.


	3. III

I know I promised longer chapters, but this one just sort of seemed 'complete', you know?

In any case, I have learned **3 **things this weekend: Waking up at 5 AM on a Saturday sucks, Being the only girl on a bus with 8 other guys isn't nearly as fun as it sounds, and how to play Euchre. For those who have never heard of the game, apparently it's the redneck version of Hearts (which I have also never played). For those who have… Are there any better teachers, cos I'm still confused. XD

Enjoy!

* * *

"Colonel Mustang?" Riza asked. Roy turned around and started walking backwards. Riza raised an eyebrow at the uncharacteristically casual behavior. "Where are you going?"

"Sergeant Simian called, I have to go clean out my dormitory." He turned back around, exiting the office.

Riza glanced down at the secretary, who blinked up at her innocently. "Melissa? What was that about?"

The brunette young woman shrugged. "I just put the calls through, I don't listen in on them." She scribbled something on a page and set it aside.

"No, not too much." Riza said, raising an eyebrow. She knew that the petite secretary had a tendency to know more than she should.

"I think it's supposed to be a surprise of some sort," Melissa said sheepishly, "but," she added hastily when she eyes the gun at Riza's hip, "I believe he's been reinstated as Colonel, and is no longer a member of the police force."

Riza's face softened into a small smile. "I see. Thank you, Melissa."

"Your welcome," Melissa sighed with relief.

* * *

The relative silence was broken by a periodic, hacking cough.

"There, there… breathe in deeply, this will clear your lungs." Sharon's soothing voice floated on the air over the coughing.

"Brother!" Al sighed exasperatedly. "How did you manage this?"

"I don't know—_cough_—Al… I just…"

"Shush." Sharon rubbed Ed's back soothingly, pushing him gently over the steaming bowl of herbs. "Breathe." Sharon turned to address Al and Noa, who were standing in the doorway. "I would suggest that you stay away for the most part, it would do absolutely no good for you to catch his cold."

"You're right, Sharon." Al bowed with a small smile. Noa nodded as well and turned to follow Al out. "I needed some fresh air anyway."

"I'll come with you." Noa said. They went out onto the tiny front porch and sat on the steps.

"Wow… you can see so many stars…" Al whispered. "It reminds me of back home, in Rozembul…"

"That's Ed and your hometown, isn't it?" Noa asked. She looked at Al curiously. He dropped his gaze from the sky to Noa's face.

"It was," He replied. "It's a beautiful place. The air is clear and the stars at night are almost never hidden."

"It sounds lovely." Noa said, crossing her arms and resting them on her knees. She, too, stared up at the sky. "There isn't enough beauty in this world."

"There are many beautiful places here," Al protested. "I had never seen the ocean until we came here. To be frank, I had kind of thought it was the stuff of legends because Amestris was such a landlocked nation, and we didn't really communicate well with the outside countries."

"Really?" Noa asked. "I loved visiting the coastal towns. There were sometimes carnivals on beaches that we would go to."

"It sounds like fun." Al's gaze returned to the sky. "I wonder… what's across the ocean? I mean, they don't talk about it much in general."

"America," Noa said. "The gypsies say that it's a kind of Shambala on Earth. It's supposed to be a beautiful land, where opportunities wait around every corner for even a gypsy to get real work. My people never have enough money to go there, though. To get there, you have to take a ship. I heard that it takes weeks, and disease is still common in the third-class cabins where we would have to travel."

"Oh… How much money would it take?"

"Almost a hundred dollars per room…" Noa sighed. "It's impossible for my people to collect that much money and keep it."

"Impossible, maybe, for a Gyspy," Al said slowly, "But you're traveling with Elrics, now."

Noa looked up at him, eyes widened slightly. "What…?"

"Ed and I used to travel a lot, everywhere. We knew a think or two about keeping up with money."

Noa's expression of shock faded into hope. "Do you mean that we might actually… be able to visit America?"

"I'm sure of it." Al grinned as he stood up, offering Noa a hand. "As soon as we find the bomb and take care of it, I'll take you to America," he asserted. Noa took his hand and was startled when his emotions leaked through, even though she was trying to control his ability. Visions of a land he had never seen drifted through his head… Noa quickly released his hand, blushing, once she was standing.

"Thank you," she whispered, smiling.


End file.
